Monthly Archives: March 2018
NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – March 20, 2018
Playoff Percentages: Kings earn biggest rise with comeback win
Through the remainder of the regular season, we'll take a look at how each night's action impacts the playoff race, highlighting which teams' postseason odds went up or down significantly.
With less than a minute left in the Kings' matchup with the Minnesota Wild, it looked like Los Angeles was going to walk away without a point, but instead it picked up two. Dustin Brown deflected home a Drew Doughty point shot with 47 seconds left in regulation to tie it, before Jeff Carter notched the OT winner.
It was a massive two points for the Kings, who have significantly improved their chances of returning to the postseason after missing out a year ago.
Here's a look at the percentages heading into Monday's late game between the Calgary Flames and the Arizona Coyotes.
Western Conference
Team | Result | Playoff Chances | Change |
---|---|---|---|
Kings | 4-3 OTW vs. MIN | 82.3% | +9.4% |
Over in the East, the Devils underwent the biggest percentage change despite doing nothing but watching both the Blue Jackets and the Panthers walk away victorious Monday night.
Eastern Conference
Team | Result | Playoff Chances | Change |
---|---|---|---|
Panthers | 2-0 W vs. MTL | 53.6% | +5.8% |
Blue Jackets | 5-4 OTW vs. BOS | 88.8% | +5.3% |
Devils | Off | 67.1% | -7.8% |
To see percentages for the entire NHL, visit Sports Club Stats.
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Bruins’ Donato impresses with 3-point debut
It's been a wild week for Ryan Donato.
Only three days removed from completing his third season at Harvard, then signing his entry-level contract on Sunday, the Boston Bruins freshman capped off a hectic few days with an impressive three-point performance in his NHL debut Monday.
The night included a goal and two assists, as the Massachusetts native put on a show for the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets. In all, Donato is just the second skater in Bruins' franchise history to notch three points in his introduction to the NHL.
And while Boston was only able to collect a single point in the overtime loss, Donato's contributions were key to the ailing Bruins, with forwards Patrice Bergeron, David Backes, and Rick Nash unable to suit up for Monday's contest.
Donato will get another shot to make his mark when the Bruins begin a four-game road trip Wednesday against the St. Louis Blues.
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Streaking Blue Jackets peaking at right time
The Columbus Blue Jackets picked the perfect time to get hot.
Notching their eighth straight victory Monday, the streaking Blue Jackets moved up to 85 points on the season following a come from behind win over the Boston Bruins.
Forward Cam Atkinson sealed the victory, tallying his fourth goal in his past three outings, showing shades of the winger who potted 35 a year ago.
Call it a turnaround month for the Blue Jackets, who fell to 32-28-5 following a 4-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks, a pedestrian showing that saw the team sitting fifth in the Metropolitan Division clinging to the final wild-card spot by virtue of a tiebreaker.
But if there is one thing the Blue Jackets are familiar with, it's win streaks. After all, just last season Columbus rifled off a franchise-record 16 straight victories.
There is also something to be said for entering the postseason on a high note, a big change in fortune from less than three weeks ago when it appeared the possibility of the playoffs was slipping away.
A win over the Bruins on Monday bumped the Blue Jackets to the top wild-card spot and just two points back of the second seed in the Metropolitan.
Just how long can the streak go? We'll know soon enough, as the Blue Jackets return to the ice Tuesday against the New York Rangers when they will try for their ninth straight win.
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Predators set franchise record with 15-game point streak
The Nashville Predators have been excellent all season, but down the stretch, they've been white-hot.
With a 4-0 shutout victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night, the Predators established a franchise record by recording at least one point in 15 straight games, going 14-0-1 over that span.
Monday's win was their fourth in a row, and their only blemish over the last 15 contests was a shootout loss to the New Jersey Devils on March 10.
The Predators haven't lost in regulation since Feb. 17, when they fell 3-1 to the Detroit Red Wings.
Nashville has the best record in the NHL at 48-14-10, sitting four points clear of the Tampa Bay Lightning (49-19-4). Both clubs have played 72 games.
On Friday, the Predators became the first team to clinch a 2018 playoff spot with a 4-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
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Lamoriello on goalie interference: ‘There should be change and there will be’
Lou Lamoriello believes changes to the NHL's goaltender interference protocol are both warranted and imminent.
"There should be change and there will be," the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager told TSN's Frank Seravalli at the GM meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., on Monday. "It’s just making sure it’s the right thing. I think we also have to be very careful and dwell on (whether) something is majorly wrong. We had several isolated incidents that were flagrant and they overshadow everything else."
Goalie interference was the focus of the first day of the spring GM meetings, which will run through Wednesday.
Several suggestions were made in an effort to ensure more consistency on calls involving contact with goaltenders, including putting an official in the league's Situation Room and giving that room the final say.
Some form of change is likely coming, as TSN's Darren Dreger reported earlier Monday.
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Bruins’ Rick Nash day to day with upper-body injury
Add another name to the Boston Bruins' injury ward.
Forward Rick Nash is listed as day to day with an upper-body injury and will not play in Monday's contest against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It's just the latest ailment for the Bruins, who are already without key forwards Patrice Bergeron (fractured foot) and David Backes (knee laceration).
Boston acquired Nash from the New York Rangers at this year's trade deadline, and he's since tallied six points in 11 games.
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Hurricanes’ Hanifin out indefinitely with concussion
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Noah Hanifin has been sidelined indefinitely with a concussion, the team announced Monday.
Hanifin missed Sunday's contest against the New York Islanders with what the Hurricanes described as an upper-body injury.
There is no timetable for his return to the lineup.
In 71 games this season, Hanifin has recorded eight goals and 21 assists. He ranks fifth among Carolina blue
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Report: Goalie interference the primary focus on Day 1 of GM meetings
The NHL's most controversial in-game issue became the most talked about subject on the first day of the March general managers meetings.
Goaltender interference was the main topic of discussion at Monday's gathering in Boca Raton, Fla., and some form of change is likely to be announced, TSN's Darren Dreger reports.
The GMs spent three hours going over the rule, and NHL director of hockey operations Colin Campbell had them vote on whether goalie interference occurred on some of the plays in question in order to show how difficult it is to reach a consensus, according to The Canadian Press.
Even the press corps got involved.
Media in Boca is currently viewing goalie interference examples with Hockey Ops and voting as GM's would. Educating exercise.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 19, 2018
Two potential solutions put forth by the GMs and the league in order to establish more consistency with the calls were to put an official in the Situation Room and to have that same centralized review center make the final call, NHL.com's Dan Rosen reports.
Another suggestion made Monday was assessing a two-minute penalty for an incorrect goalie interference challenge, but Campbell "didn't seem wild about it, since it's subjective and not black and white like offside," according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.
The league began handing out a minor penalty for an incorrect offside challenge at the start of this season.
GMs will continue meeting in Florida through Wednesday.
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